Safety assessment of commercially processed foods by quantifying 3-monochloropropane 1,2-diol

Food safety concern related to intensively processed foods in terms of unadorned processing needs consideration for process-induced compounds. Recently, food processing has accompanied safety concerns inclusive process induced contaminants like 3-monochloropropane 1, 2-diol (3-MCPD). The study was intensive to quantify 3-MCPD in selected food products. Various food samples from two different manufacturers were selected in this study including bread, cornflakes, sausages, nuggets, milk powder, canola, sunflowers, and hydrogenated oil. The gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector analysis was performed to quantify the 3-MCPD in extracted oil with standard compound. The analysis revealed the presence of high amount of 3-MCPD in most of the processed foods in the range of 0.98-155 μg/kg. Brands of Canola oil had the maximum 3-MCPD while the first brand for cornflakes and sunflower oil had minimum 3-MCPD. Detected concentrations were directly proportional to lipid contents for most of the products. The study revealed the presence of 3-MCPD in analyzed commercial food products. Toxicity and food safety concern of chloropropanols has been established. At present, a matter of concern is the presence of substantial amount of 3-MCPD among foods which needs future monitoring regarding exposure and risk assessment estimation.